


The Scars Cut Deep

by Whiterosefan



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 15:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14917952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whiterosefan/pseuds/Whiterosefan
Summary: When Weiss is injured, Ruby patches the wound, but notices some marks that have been there awhile. When she asks Weiss, she answers, revealing something horiffiying.





	The Scars Cut Deep

**Author's Note:**

> For Whiterose Week 2018 Day 3
> 
> Prompt:Struggle (emotions, past, trauma)

"Why did Oz send us out here? There's noth-" Yang's protesting was cut short by a guttural growl from the woods, and a "Not again!" from Ruby. "What do you mean "Not again"? Have you actually FOUGHT one of these!?" Blake asked, staring from the large Ape-like Grimm standing before them, to Ruby with surprise, and back. "Yeah, once. I fought one alone in Kyrouri." As they all looked at her for a plan, she looks behind them, then says, "Watch my back, I've got this." Weiss gave her a concerned look, receiving an "I've got this, trust me" in return. She only nodded, turning to watch her back as the others watched her sides. As Ruby's scythe clanged with the bony plates on the Grimm, it drew others to their location. Yang went her usual route, punching them to death, Blake was a bit more cautious, keeping her distance, and slashing at the prime opportunity. Both got hit several times, because of them looking back to check on the other two. Weiss, however, didn't get hit once because she trusted her teammates enough to know they would be fine, allowing her to focus better. When they turned around, they were greeted with a red tornado, then Ruby and the monster in the air. As they all watch her stab it and her cloak go haywire, they didn't notice the Ursa Major behind Weiss, paw raised to strike. They only noticed when Weiss' torso turned red, and she fell to the ground, without a chance to cry out. "Yang, Blake, can you handle that?" "Yeah, go get her some help. We'll finish up here." Blake replied, clearly worried about Weiss' condition. Ruby nodded, before picking Weiss up carefully, and using her semblance, launching towards her home in Patch. When she arrived, she took notice of the Heiress' slow and short breathing. "Hang on, Princess. Don't die on me, please." Ruby whispered to her bleeding partner, tears starting to flow. Moments later, Tai opened the door, and promptly began to worry. "Ruby, what happened?! Are you alright?!" As he moved to let her and Weiss in, she answered, "I will be, once my partner isn't bleeding out." "Alright, I'll go get some stuff to patch that wound. You just get her somewhere comfortable, and see how bad her injury is." Ruby only nodded, before taking Weiss to the most comfortable place she knew: Her own room. As she lay her on her bed, she realized what she would have to do to inspect her wound, and silently prayed that the Heiress was unconscious. She moved carefully, so she would not accidentally wake her, and removed her jacket. "Ruby, how bad is it?" Tai asked, finding her in her room. "I don't know yet. I'm trying not to wake her, but I also don't want to look at it, given it's location." Words spoken, she gestured to the white-clad girl's back, slightly to far up for comfort. "Ah, yes that could be awkward to look at. But, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if she knew it saved her life." Tai's words gave Ruby the peace if mind she would need to do this, and she slowly let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Um, Dad? Should you turn around?" As she asked, her father just laughed, and said, "I will, if you'll be more comfortable." "Please?" At her request, her dad turned to face away from them. Exhaling, Ruby slowly moved the top of Weiss' outfit up, from the back(in an attempt not to make the situation even more embarrassing) and nearly fainted at the sight of three large slashes across her back, that looked like they would split her in half had they gone any deeper. "Dad, it's really bad. She might need to be taken to a hospital." As Tai looked at it, he inhaled sharply. "That is really bad. But, I know how to treat this. I can tell you how to do it, if you'd prefer." "I can help, but you probably know more about it than I do, Dad. " "Alright, then let me do my thing." As Tai came over to tend her wound, Ruby called Blake to see how they were faring. "Blake, you guys alright?" "Yeah. We just finished, so do you need us to report to Ozpin?" "Yeah. Weiss' condition is worse than we thought, so I'll likely be here a while. Tell Yang Dad says he loves her." With that done, Ruby prepared herself to help treat her partner. Several hours after they finished, Weiss stirred lightly. "Weiss, are you awake? Do you need anything?" Weiss could barely make out the outline of her best friend hovering over her. "Ruby? Where am I? What-" She was cut off by a tear hitting her cheek, and the sound of her partner crying above her. "Weiss, I thought you would die!" As Weiss raised an eyebrow, the memory hit her. Moments later, she was brought back to the present by Ruby lightly hugging her, and saying, "When you fell, Blake told me to get you somewhere safe, so I brought you to my house. Your in my room right now." Weiss didn't reply, but instead pulled Ruby further into a hug, softly whispering a "Thank you" before also crying into Ruby's shoulder. After they both calmed down, Ruby mentally fought herself to decide weather it was worth it to ask Weiss about the various other scars she had seen. After Weiss gave her a look that practically screamed "What's wrong?", she decided to take the chance. "Weiss, is it alright if I ask you something? That seems like a strange question, but it might be uncomfortable to you, so I figured I'd ask." She gave her a minute to process it, and was slightly surprised when Weiss answered, "I suppose. What could be uncomfortable about it, though?" "Ah. Well, it might be about part of your past. A part I didn't know existed." "Ruby, I trust you enough to tell you about my past. Your the only one I'd trust with it, anyways. There's no point in betraying myself, and not answering." Ruby exhaled, preparing herself. "Ok. I noticed a few scars, old scars, when I looked at the wound on your back. I wanted to know where they came from. If thats not to personal, that is." The horrified look Weiss had was soon replaced by a look if rage, then sadness as she looked anywhere but at Ruby's face. These expression changes didn't go unnoticed by her, however, and Weiss soon found herself being held gently by Ruby, as she said, "You don't have to answer if it pains you this much, Weiss. It's your decision." Weiss merely shook her head, saying "I said I'd tell you. Besides, I trust you enough to tell you. And you deserve to know a bit more about me." Ruby just held her tighter, and nodded. Taking this as the signal to continue, Weiss began to recount everything she could remember. "I hope your ready for a very long, and very violent, story." Ruby only nodded into the nape of Weiss' neck, and re-positioned herself to avoid touching Weiss' back. Exhaling, Weiss began.

Several Years Prior(Weiss is 6)  
"Winter, have you seen Father? He asked me to speak with him as soon as I can." "Weiss. I believe he is in the lower rooms, number 414. Did he happen to tell you what he needed to speak to you about?" "No, unfortunately he did not. I should go. I wouldn't want to keep Father waiting." She waved to her sister, thanking her for her assistance, and made her way to Room 414. On her way, she thought about the look on her sisters face, but could find no reason for it. As she got closer, she thought she could hear screaming, and several men talking. Curious, she stopped to listen for a moment, and nearly cried at what she heard. "Hmm, these should be more successful, given how much we've improved the formula." "Let's test it, then. No better way to get results." Moments later, she heard pained screaming, a crash, and a loud thud. "Hmmm, seems this one is too strong. Ah, well. We've got plenty more subjects to use." "Yes, that is true. We'll make a Faunus out of them yet." "Come, Jacobus, more testing awaits." Weiss listened in fear and shock at the exchange. Had the woman she heard scream been killed by the men, or whatever they gave her. Shaking herself out of that train if thought, she kept walking and tried desperately to forget what she'd heard. As she reached 414, she wondered what her Father could be doing. Finding no ideas, she raised her hand to the door and knocked lightly. A moment later, her father opened it, and said, "Weiss. Just in time. Come in, your Father needs help." "Alright, Father. What must I do?' Fearfully, she looked at the table in the middle if the room, bloodstained, like the floor and tools next to it. Before she could ask, she heard to door lock, and was roughly pushed forwards towards the table. Her father, sensing her scream, covered her mouth. They eventually managed to pin her to the table and clamp the restraints down. "Are we ready, Josh?" Weiss heard her Father ask the man across from him. "Yes, after she's been.......Prepared." Josh stated, nonchalantly. *What did he mean prepared?* Weiss wondered. She had a pretty clear idea if what he meant when her father reappeared holding a rather large needle. She had never wished more than now that she hadn't trusted her father. She nearly screamed as the needle pierced her flesh, but managed to bite it back. "Now, just relax Weiss. That would make this easier, and faster." She suddenly had the urge to stab him, with no idea what caused it. When she tried to move her head to follow her father across the room, she realized the first needle had paralyzed her. Panic took over, and she had no control over the fearful thoughts running through her mind. Her father and Josh re-emerging with more tools and, to Weiss' absolute horror, about 15 more needles did nothing to alleviate this. "Josh, hold her still. Just in case she's immune to the previous serum." Her anger rising seemed to break the paralysis, but Josh already had her arms held fast. Unlike the first needle, which was injected relatively normally, all 15 of these were brutally stabbed into she right shoulder at once. Pain unimaginable rushed through her, yet, determined not to give them indication, she bit her tongue and held it all back. She could cry later, when she was safe. "Is she defective!? Anyone else, Human or Faunus, no-one should be able to endure that without shedding a single tear!" "Precisely why I selected Weiss. She was always the most determined and iron-willed of my children. I had a feeling she would be perfect for this, given her unusual ability to lock herself in her mind and ignore all physical pain." "Well, that'll give us more to do. This could be fun!" Weiss mentally vowed to kill him later, when she got out. If she got out. "With that part done, we just need to do the modifications, and run a diagnostics scan. Josh?" "On it sir!" Weiss held back the urge to kick him somewhere very unpleasant as he turned her to lay on her stomach, and restrained her again. "I'm still not sure how I feel about doing this to a 6-year-old, but I'll follow you, Jauques. She is your daughter, after all." "Good. That's why I selected you, Josh. I knew you wouldn't let me down." They exchanged looks of enjoyment and trust, before looking back at Weiss with a terrifying glee. It became increasingly difficult to suppress her cries, as their methods became more violent. They cut her back in various locations, added and removed things, and injected her with more needles, directly into each of her bones. Her blood now stained all the tools, the table, and was currently hitting the floor, covering every other victims blood. She didn't even want to think about how much of her flesh was removed, or how much of it they had torn off, getting it stuck to the various knives, scalpels, and saws. Her father approached her, with another, different needle. "It's to draw your blood, so we can see your genetic code. When they drew her blood, her father said, "Almost done. This should be the final step before the yearly scanning." Hearing their footsteps receding, she gave herself a moment to think. *What is this for? What could they possibly have gotten out of this? Except enjoyment, maybe? Why me, though? Why not Winter, the older of us?* Hearing them speak, she tuned into the conversation, hoping for a glimmer of insight into this "experiment". "Well, beyond scanning, all that's left is to give her this locally, and we're done sir!" Josh joyfully stated. "Excellent. I believe I shall let you have the honor, my friend." "Sir, I am honored." She saw his figure approach out of the corner of her eye. Another needle pierced her flesh, dead on a vein. A numbness settled in over her whole body, but faded quickly. She felt the restraints release, and heard her Father say, "Weiss, I thank you. You may leave now." Not just a statement, a warning Weiss realized. Not needing a second warning, she ran from the room, intending to hide in hers and let out the tears she'd held back. Things were slightly complicated when she ran into Winter. "Sister, are you alright?" Weiss could tell she wasn't being genuine. She pushed past her, her only response being "I think you know the answer, Winter." As she lay there on her bed crying alone, her Father's brutal experiment began to activate.

10 year-old Weiss  
"Weiss looked disdainfully at the scars on her back and arms, trying to forget the experience in vain. "What purpose did this serve, Father?" She walked to her nightstand, determined to master the use of her portal Glyph before her sister arrived to check on her. Opening the slender box, she grabbed the hilt of her weapon, Myrtenaster. She'd made it herself, on insistence that she would know her style better than Aaron, the smith. Surprisingly, her father had agreed, and she'd made it as simple yet deadly as she could. Now, she practiced to master her Semblance before Winter decided to come visit, though the chances of that happening soon were second to none. Her sister had been the heiress, before she left to join the Atlas Military, under General Ironwood. Now, the title was Weiss', even though she had decided to become a Huntress, and attend a combat school. She wanted to attend Beacon Academy, to get as far away from her "family" as possible. She kept this secret from her father, intending only to tell him when she was old enough to attend. As she practiced her Glyphs, she noticed she moved faster, and if she jumped she took longer to hit the ground than usual. Dismissing it as a trick of the mind, she went back to training, hoping to finally impress her sister.

13 year-old Weiss  
When her sister actually arrived, she sent for Weiss, telling her to meet her on the roof. Weiss tried to show her sister what she could do, how hard she had trained, but her sister decided to use a non-killable snow wave to attack, effectively disarming Weiss and leaving her helpless. She showed her defenseless sister no mercy, burying her under a group of Beowulf summons. When she returned Weiss' sword to her, she berated her for failure against her summons, before leaving her, lightly crying and alone again, without even acknowledging her improvement in Dust. Seeing her sister leave like that, Weiss felt the anger from 4 years ago resurface. She punched the roof in anger, surprising herself when she looked down to see she her punched had cracked the marble, pushing it inwards. With the knowledge of her apparent strength in mind, she wondered yet again what the experiment had done to her.

Weiss' 18th Birthday  
Weiss had finally decided to tell her Father her plan to go to Beacon. She had planned to tell him it was the best combat school in Remnant in case he argued. She knew that would get her father's attention, since he wanted her to be the best at everything. The only way to be the best Huntress she could would be to go to the best combat school. Her father seemed to disagree, however, saying he wanted her closer to home. She knew his reasons: To continue to scan her, for the results of their experiment. When it became clear that she wouldn't attend Atlas Academy, her father told them to release the Armor on her. "If you won't listen to me, than I have no further use for you. But, if you actually survive this, I shall allow to to attend Beacon. She heard metal clanking, and drew Myrtenaster on instinct. When the Armor, called "Arma Gigas" by her father, emerged, she silently screamed. The sight of it's sword reminded her if the knives, removing parts if her flesh, and staining the floor with her blood. She came to in just enough time to dodge it's sword swing, turning Myrtenaster's barrel to red. As it swung again, she rolled backwards, before activating her platform Glyphs to move around it faster than it could follow, and slash at it with her new Fire Wave technique. This did little to harm it, but she remained undeterred. She waited for it to swing again, rotating the barrel to green. As the sword entered her vision, she blocked, disorienting it momentarily, and taking the chance to hit it's arm to remove it's sword. Regaining it's senses, it swung it's fist in an attempt to strike her. She mearly used a platform Glyph to dodge upward, not noticing the other fist aimed straight at her. When it struck, her Aura was completely drained, sending her flying. Momentarily dazed, she pushed herself up, only to realize she couldn't see out of her left eye. Reaching up to find blood, she became determined to defeat the Armor, and prove she was better than her Father believed. Loading Myrtenaster with ice, she waited for it to come closer, then spun and stabbed the ground, holding it in place. She set a trap Glyph for later, a plan forming. While it was stuck, she attacked it's legs quickly, before launching herself into it's head, causing it to stumble onto her trap. She activated it, launching the Armor skyward, before using her Semblance to lock in in the air. Jumping as high as she could, she found her ability to remain in the air for longer periods if time than normal useful, letting her switch to the White Dust in her sword. As the blade finished lighting it's runes, she flew diagonally through the Arma Gigas, slashing it's torso in the process. As she landed, the Armor crashed behind her, shattering into millions of pieces. She triumphantly glanced up, only to see her Father glaring at her, evidently angry she'd survived. But true to his word for once, he told Klein to take her to Beacon. She would finally be free if the life of torture and sadness she had lived. She was happy, more than she should have been, to realize she would be able to defend her ideas without fear of losing her mind. As she sat in the Bullhead, she gazed out the window, wondering what she would encounter in Vale.

Present  
Weiss was only brought back to reality this time by Ruby's crying being replaced by a horrified shriek. As she prepared to ask what was wrong, Ruby uneasily said, "Weiss, you have WINGS!" "Wha-" She was cut off by the sight if large, feathery wings attached to her back. Suddenly, it hit her. "That's what it was! Why I became faster and lighter. The "serum" they gave me was the same as the woman I heard in the first room! They made me into a Faunus!" She was soon confused to feel Ruby running her hand along the feathers, before she asked, "Can you actually fly with these?" "I would think, but I'd have to test it. Why have you not ran out if the room screaming yet? Are you not afr-" This time, she found herself unable to speak, not out of fear, but from Ruby's soft lips against hers. Her shock soon turned into the urge to kiss her back. No longer caring about the wings on her back, she held Ruby closer, returning the kiss with just as much love for her as she believed Ruby had for her. When they finally came apart, Ruby just held her tightly in a hug, saying "Weiss, it doesn't matter what you are. Your still Weiss, and nothing will change that." Weiss' smile only brightened at her words, but Ruby's next comment earned a laugh from the White-haired Falcon Faunus. "Plus, just imagine everyone else's reactions. They'll be priceless!" Weiss only laughed, as she planned out how to use her new wings to stop Salem, and how her relationship with Ruby would affect Yang's mood. At peace with her dolt in her arms, they both fell asleep, smiling.


End file.
